Eduard Folayang’s road to redemption resumes at ONE: Inside the Matrix

Eduard “Landslide” Folayang has been waiting for this moment for a long time – nine months to be exact.

While his future was clouded by uncertainties like the COVID-19 pandemic, Folayang will finally return to mixed martial arts action against Antonio “The Spartan” Caruso on the stacked ONE: Inside the Matrix card, set for October 30 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium.

Fortunately for him, he never stopped working despite the lockdowns and restrictions.

“I’m so excited to be back in action again, especially since I’ve had to wait so long in lockdown. We’ve been eagerly anticipating when we will be able to return to competition, and I’m glad that the moment has finally arrived. We’re absolutely pumped and training very hard right now to put on a good show,” Folayang said.

“The past few months have been very difficult for all of us. Everyone in the world has been affected by COVID-19, especially here in the Philippines. It posed a few challenges for our training early on as we had to stay at home and practice social distancing. Even in isolation, the work never stopped, and we used our time to sharpen our tools and skills.”

“Landslide” is coming off a close split decision loss to Pieter “The Archangel” Buist in January. He knows the importance of this upcoming match.

Nearing 36, Folayang is not getting any younger and the division is only getting deeper as time passes.

A win against a young stud like Caruso would prove that the Filipino still has a lot left. A loss, however, could prove disastrous for the country’s hero.

“I can say the results of these next few fights are very important to us, as we haven’t gotten the results we wanted recently. So now, we are really aiming for the best results possible,” Folayang said.

“We are completely focused on doing whatever it takes to claim victory right now. It’s not going to be easy, but we’re ready to give it our best. We want to go in there with confidence.”

That will be easier said than done against “The Spartan”, who trains under legendary Henri Hooft; and with ONE World Champions Aung La “The Burmese Python” N Sang and Martin “The Situ-Asian” Nguyen, who happens to have a win over Folayang.

“Antonio Caruso is a strong fighter. I’ve seen his previous fights. I don’t think he’s a guy you can really take lightly,” Folayang said.

“Of course, I’m doing everything I can to prepare for his style. As usual, it’s going to be about dictating the pace and making him fight my fight. You can’t underestimate anyone in this game, so I’m not about to start with him.”